Just The Way We Are
by MoonlightGardenias
Summary: Because they're the center. Random BB fluff post 3.01, 'Widow's Son in the Windshield.'Oneshot


**Author's Note: So to be honest, I have no idea where this came from. I loved the premiere last night, and haven't been able to get that final scene out of my head ever since. This is pretty much BB fluff, so it has to huge purpose, but I still felt the need to write it. Leave a review if you'd like, it helps me know what you think. Tuesdays are back, and I couldn't be happier. :)**

**So some of this might be spoilerish if someone hasn't seen 'Widow's son in the windshield'...but nothing dramatically huge.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Bones. Simple as that. Oh, but how awesome would it be if I did...**

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_"We're the center."_

Booth's words echoed in Temperance's head as she tried to focus on her work nearly a week after he had said them. While a part of her was glad to be back in the field working with him, she couldn't help but wonder what he had meant by saying what he did. Alone in her office, Temperance had the chance to think.

It was true; whenever they dealt with a case Booth and she were usually at the core of the group. But had one been removed and replaced, would it have made that big of a difference? Had it been any other anthropoligist, or any other FBI agent-had Zach not returned-would it have made that huge of a difference?

Temperance swore to herself that Booth was only trying to be a good partner when asking for clarification, and that if she were in his position, she would have done the same. Still, as she sat at her computer, what Angela said came back to her. She had pretty much told her that after Hodgins and her had left, leaving Temperance and Booth at the altar there, she buried herself in her work as an excuse to not work with him. Zach was on leave, so she needed to stay until she found his replacement, right?

Temperance sighed listlessly, opening the file for her latest book. She hadn't worked on it much over the past few months, but within the last week or so something changed inside of her and thus words began to flow freely again. She allowed her eyes to drift across the room to the clock and knew she should probably go home. The case was beginning to take a toll on her-they had found several other bones at another overpass several miles away. It seemed like with every new day, another question was revealed. Tired, she rubbed the back of her neck before returning to her writing.

A smile crossed her lips when she couldn't help but think of what Booth would say had he seen her there still typing away in her office. He would have stood there with that look on his face, and just like usual she would have told him she was finishing up-she'd leave soon. Booth would shake his head, a smile crossing his features as he would say that she should leave, staying in the lab that much couldn't be good for anyone. She would have smiled back, perhaps a little irritated, and explain that it was perfectly healthy for her to stay there for as long as she liked as long as she got a fair amount of work completed. Booth wouldn't take that answer, and would come up with some excuse about how he was "just worried for his friend."

Blinking, Temperance fought to clear her head. _Stop it-_She told herself, knowing that she desperately needed to relax and focus on what she was doing. _It's not like me to just...focus on someone like that. Yes, it's Booth. But Booth and I are partners, right? Logically, I would be obligated to think about him some of the time-both for his welfare and for mine._

Her fingers danced across the keyboard, carefully crafting her new chapter. It wasn't until her thoughts started drifting away again did she stop. In truth, Temperance Brennan was usually a well-thought out, carefully spoken woman. Knowing what to do, or figuring out how to get there came second nature. Still, as she reached for the cup of coffee waiting patiently on her desk, memories from a week before came back to her.

_Booth covered my cup so I wouldn't get burned. It's perfectly believable that he would be concerned for my safety, so thinking otherwise would be completely out of the question. _Temperance took a sip from the cup, hoping it would give her the strength to at least work a little more. _He wanted to know if were solid. Solid? Solid as in center, as in the core of the whole group. But it wasn't just 'us' as in Booth and I, but everyone. So why is it that I can't help but hear Angela's voice in my head trying to convince me otherwise?_

She wanted to believe it was nothing. She wanted to go back to the way things were before Zach left, back before the awkward pause after the wedding that wasn't. Knowing that there was no way to literally turn back time, and to think so would merely be focusing on a point of which you'd never get again caused Temperance to return once more to writing.

It would have been easy-save the file, turn the computer off, and go home. In that order, things made so much sense but gluing everything together seemed to be the problem. Temperance, at nearly midnight, found herself completely wide awake. So in her eyes, working on her latest piece while in the solace of her office seemed like a perfectly fine way to spend the next hour or so.

The quiet attitude was interrupted by a knocking at her office door. Temperance jumped a little, but looking up to see who it was found herself feeling more relaxed. "Why are you here?"She asked, feeling guilty the second she did.

"You see I had this really great idea about an hour ago. I wasn't sleepy, but I was hungry. And well..I knew you. I figured you'd still be sitting up. So I drive to this take-out place-"Booth said, sheepishly pulling out a few white bags. "-I figure it's no big deal. I drove to your place, get out...knock."He said, grinning as he knew it was obvious. "But you weren't there."

"So you decided to drive all the way here to find me?"Temperance asked, silently wondering in her head why. _He was hungry and wanted someone to eat with, or at least share casual conversation. Afterall, we're partners; friends. It's natural that he might think of me in that category._

Booth shuffled his feet, suddenly thinking that the whole idea might have been bad in the first place. "If you want me to leave, Bones...I'll go."

_Since when does Booth ever take no for an answer? _Temperance shook her head at the thought, and focused her eyes on Booth. He had seemed so happy to see her upon entered her office, and at the time thought that it was a good idea. "While I admit that I'm a little surprised finding you here..in my office...now that you're here, it would be rude to ask you to leave."

Booth smiled, pleased. "Thanks, Bones."He said, settling on the couch. "I mean you don't mind that we eat this in here, do you? It's not going to cause some sort of..chemical-"

"No, it's fine."Temperance replied, wondering why he was acting the way that he was. It wasn't liked Booth to appear nervous, at least in front of her. _Booth just isn't tired, it's normal for him to look for someone who feels the same. _Temperance tried her best to make sense of the situation, but knew that where Booth was concerned, there was no sense in rationalizing.

Delving a pair of chopsticks into a familiar white container, Booth looked up at her several minutes later. "Seriously, Bones? You're going to sit there...doing whatever it was you were doing instead of coming over here to join me?"

"Did I forget to mention the fact that I wasn't hungry?"Temperance managed to stutter, suddenly finding being anywhere near Booth uncomfortable.

Booth, seemingly sensing how she was feeling, couldn't help but grin. "Come on, just one bite?"

Temperance fought hard to stifle a laugh at the expression on Booth's face-his head tilted, eyes pleading with hers. _Stop it, Temperance. He's just asking you to try one piece, it's not like he's asking you to consume the entire carton. _"I don't know..."Temperance mumbled, tapping her nails against her desk.

"You mean to tell me that Temperance Brennan, world famous author...and of course forensic anthropologist, is turning down a challenge?"Booth said, holding his hand to his chest in mock surprise.

At the shock of hearing Booth actually uttering her whole name, Temperance took a second to recover. "Since when is eating a challenge? I'm perfectly capable of going home and heating up whatever it is that happens to be in the fridge, in the event that I were hungry."

Booth nodded, chewing a piece of broccoli. "True...but Bones, then you wouldn't get the chance to see me. Think about it, I came back here...to...okay, well I admit that I left something here earlier. But honestly? I came because I knew you'd be here."

_So Booth really did come to see me. He didn't mention food in what he just said. But we're friends, and friends talk...why can't Booth and I? _Temperance crossed her arms, watching the amused look on Booth's face.

He held up the chopsticks, shrugging. "You'll never know until you try."

Not sure why, a smile crossed Temperance's lips as she settled on the couch close-but not too close-to Booth. "Happy?"

"No, because you haven't eaten. And you can't deny that, because the closest thing you've had to food was that salad you ate half of when we stopped for lunch earlier. That was...ten hours ago. Come on, eat..."Booth said, picking up a piece from the carton with the chopsticks.

"I can't eat that."Temperance said, pulling back a little. Watching the hurt that seemed to flood into Booth's eyes, she immediately felt the need to assert herself. "It's just the fact that you've been eating off of those, and statistically, two people sharing the same utensil without washing them prior to either person consuming food just begs for germs."

Booth stared back at her for a second, trying to process what she had said. "Well, here-"He said, picking up a piece from the carton with his fingers. Studying her gaze, Booth could practically hear what she would say already. "Bones, do you realize how many times I've washed my hands today? They've been rubbed bare."

She began to see in that moment what being the 'center' meant. _We stick together. We do things together, Booth and I. But I've never seen someone so insistant on getting someone else to eat. _Knowing that if she refused again, she would offend Booth, Temperance graciously took the piece from his hand and ate it. Her eyes widened as she nodded. "This is good, Booth."

"Yeah, I know. Here, try another piece-"He said, holding another piece to her mouth. He watched her pause, as if weighing the pros and cons of actually taking a piece straight from his hand. At his surprise she did, to which he couldn't help but feel happy.

The two seconds Booth's thumb graced her lips seemed to last so much longer to Temperance, and she could feel a blush creeping up on her cheeks. The sensation that coursed through her became evident, and she coughed, hoping Booth didn't notice. _Booth is just worried about me, that's the reason he seems so concerned. _As much as Temperance tried to make sense of the situation, she couldn't help but feel that maybe there may have been something lingering underneath. "Can I ask you a question Booth? Out of general curiousity...something that happened to cross my mind."

Booth shrugged, figuring it couldn't have been bad. "Sure. What can I do for you?"

_What can he do for me?_ Temperance took a breath, trying to compose her words carefully. "Generally speaking, if someone purchases food for them and a friend...and said friend isn't home to eat, the other person will go home to eat it alone."She said, watching Booth as he took another bite. "Yet you came here."

Knowing she expected an answer, even though she hadn't actually asked a question, Booth nodded. "Because Bones, I care about you."He replied, wincing a little. "I mean, I don't just care about you. I do, of course. We've been partners for over two years now, and as bad as this may seem at times, I'm glad for that. I'm glad that I have you. Not just as a partner, but as a friend. The few months that you weren't in the field...I dunno, Bones...I just-"Booth paused again, this time apparently trying to find the right word. "It was different without you. Things weren't as...they just weren't."

Temperance's mouth hung open, knowing it wasn't the answer she had been looking for. "So, to answer my question..."

Nodding, it was apparent that Booth had already offered his answer. It took him a minute to break the gaze, but when Booth returned to what was left of his food he realized he'd wanted to say so much more. But knowing that the moment had passed, Booth waited to see see if she would speak.

Opening her mouth, Temperance wanted to speak, but felt at as loss as of what to say. Crinkling of paper was heard from Booth's direction, and when she saw him diving into the paper bag he brought, Temperance couldn't help but feel curious. "What's that?"

"These? They're complimentary."Booth said, showing her the standard-issue fortune cookies. "I know, Bones. I know that they're corny, and they don't make sense half of the time. I know that there's no possible way they could predict anything. But there's two."

Temperance was once again left speechless, not sure of how to reply. _I didn't say anything. Am I really that transparent? But he's Booth, he knows me better than...anybody. _The thought settled on her quietly as she looked over at him, a sense of amusement flickering in his eyes. She laughed, shaking her head. _Why does he have to look at me like that? He's staring. In all actuality, Booth's trying to get me to look at him. Does he not realize how ridiculous rambling over a cookie sounds? _When she looked back at him, she could feel Booth's fingers wrapping around hers, in an effort to open her hand. Feeling something plastic inside, Temperance didn't have to look to know what it was. "You're asking me to eat a fortune cookie? If it can even be called a-"

"Shh..."Booth called, shrugging. "Don't think about it. Be dangerous. Well, Bones dangerous."

"Bones dangerous?"Temperance echoed. "You do realize that the pieces of paper folded inside of these things are only random quotes picked from places. Sure, some of them may be actual quotes, or chinese proverbs or whatever it is."She stopped long enough to hear Booth laugh. Somehow, Temperance felt comforted if for nothing but knowing that he was there. "I'm guessing that saying that won't change your mind?"

"We're friends, aren't we? Friends who do things for each other?"Booth asked, really not sure where what he said came from.

"We're friends."Temperance muttered, taking apart the wrapper. Knowing that it was ridiculous, but enjoying the moment with Booth, she cracked the cookie open and read what the paper said.

'_Treasure those who know you best, for they are those who hold you up if you fall'-_Temperance smiled, slipping the paper away. As much as she wanted to deny the fact that what the paper said was true, she couldn't. "So are you happy?"

Booth shrugged, slipping an arm around her shoulders. Even though it may have appeared to anyone else like a simple hug between partners, to the both of them it was a way to let the other know that everything was fine.

_So we're good. We're better than we were before._ "Good."Temperance said, absently bringing the remnants of her cookie to her lips as she and Booth sat close. The hidden innuendos, the awkwardness-everything else seemed to slip away. _We'll probably bicker or argue in the morning. But you know what? This is good. This is different._ Temperance glanced over at Booth who sat on the couch next to her. _I don't know what's going on here, but this is Booth. I'd never hurt Booth, and I know that he wouldn't hurt me. Logically there are so many reasons that I shouldn't be thinking about this. _

Booth smiled, finishing his cookie as well. He threw his wrapper away, content in sitting next to her. In the morning, everyone would be there, and along with them, there would be cases. But in that moment, he was content in sitting next to "his" Bones, Temperance.

Temperance nodded in return as she handed him her wrapper to throw away. _But somehow I am. It doesn't make sense... _"So I guess we should go?"She said, at a loss to say anything else.

"Yeah."Booth replied, happy to know that even if they left they'd be okay now that things were normal again. "We should go."

_I don't know what's happening, but I know that Booth and I are friends. We care about each other. _Temperance thought as they left her office. She knew in that moment, no matter what happened, nothing would change that.


End file.
